Date of Graduation
Summer 2024
Degree
Master of Natural and Applied Science in Geography, Geology, and Planning
Department
College of Natural & Applied Science
Committee Chair
Robert Pavlowsky
Abstract
Historical mining activities in the Tri State mining district in Southwest Missouri from 1850 to 1950 resulted in widespread metal contamination of stream sediments. Beginning in the 1840s, land disturbances associated with Euro-American settlement and agricultural expansion increased runoff and soil erosion rates resulting in the deposition of contaminated alluvium or legacy sediment on floodplains. This study assesses zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb) contaminated legacy deposits in cut-bank exposures along floodplains in Turkey Creek Watershed (119 km²) which drained mining areas in Missouri. Ore production histories were used date metal contamination profiles and calculate floodplain deposition rates in legacy deposits. Twelve sample reaches and 23 floodplain cores were collected from three mining sub-districts, in downstream order: Oronogo-Duenweg, Joplin; and Zincite. The average depth of Zn and Pb contamination was 1.8 m ranging from 0.3 to 2.8 m. Floodplain surfaces (
Keywords
floodplain deposition, mining pollution, Tri-State Mining District, Ozark Highlands, Lead, Zinc
Subject Categories
Geomorphology
Copyright
© Hannah Riley Eades
Recommended Citation
Eades, Hannah Riley, "Mining Contamination of Legacy Deposits on Floodplains Along Turkey Creek, Western Border of the Ozark Highlands" (2024). MSU Graduate Theses. 3983.
https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/3983
